RELEASE: TIRRC CONDEMNS TENNESSEE GOV. BILL LEE’S COMMITMENT TO DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD TO CARRY OUT MASS DEPORTATIONS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2024
CONTACT
Luis Mata, 865-297-8057, Luism@tnimmigrant.org
TENNESSEE IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS COALITION CONDEMNS TENNESSEE GOV. BILL LEE’S COMMITMENT TO DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD TO CARRY OUT MASS DEPORTATIONS
Mass Deportation Would Devastate Tennessee Families, Communities, and Local Economies
Nashville, TN— TN Gov. Bill Lee, along with 25 other Republican governors, signed a letter committing to "utilize every tool" at their disposal, including state law enforcement and the National Guard, to help with President-elect Trump's mass deportation plans.
The following is a statement from Lisa Sherman-Luna, Executive Director at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition:
“We unequivocally condemn Governor Bill Lee’s commitment to enable Trump’s threats of mass deportation, a plan deemed disastrous by business leaders, economists, faith leaders, and legal experts. All Tennesseans deserve the freedom to live and work safely and without fear in our communities no matter the color of our skin, what's in our wallets or how we came to call Tennessee home.
Whether fleeing danger or seeking opportunity, immigrants enrich our state and strengthen our communities. Rounding up families is not just a moral disaster, but an economic one, crippling our businesses and agriculture and grinding production to a halt. Further, the state resources wasted on mass deportations could instead provide housing, healthcare, and education for Tennessee working families.
Additionally, it should concern every Tennessean that the Governor is threatening to rubber stamp local law enforcement and the National Guard to overstep their jurisdiction and forcefully detain our neighbors. This sets a dangerous precedent for all Tennesseans.
Governor Lee is placing a dark stain on our state. Let us learn from history that these actions lead down a dangerous path. We want to send a message loud and clear: We have faced and overcome challenges far greater than the fear tactics of Trump and his allies, like Governor Lee, and we stand united, as Tennesseans, ready to defend our communities and protect one another.”
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The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights in order to build a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. Since its founding in 2001, TIRRC has grown from a grassroots network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for emerging immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States.
